Freethought & Rationalism Archive

beth · 03-30-2003, 12:06 PM

I need help picking apart the inaccuracies in this site, please. The walls of Jerico. This came up in a discusion with my husband. I went to different sites to collect info. This site threw out all I previously knew about Jerico, but my knowledge on this topic was already poor. Thanks.

beth · 03-31-2003, 06:37 AM

Maybe I was too broad. These are the points that I'm mainly concerned with; I was able to pick away at the other crap in this site:

Quote:

Before the Israelites entered the promised land, Moses told them that they were now about to cross the Jordan river, to dispossess nations which were greater and stronger than themselves, with large cities having walls that reached, as it were, to the sky (Deuteronomy 9:1). The meticulous work of Kenyon showed that Jericho was indeed heavily fortified and that it had been burned by fire. Unfortunately, she misdated her finds, resulting in what seemed to be a discrepancy between the discoveries of archaeology and the Bible. She concluded that the Bronze Age city of Jericho was destroyed about 1550 BC by the Egyptians. An in-depth analysis of the evidence, however, reveals that the destruction took place around 1400 BC (end of the Late Bronze I period), exactly when the Bible says the Conquest occurred.3

I understand that carbon-14 and radio carbon testing preformed by Garstang gave a date that differs from Kathleen Kenyon's previous finds. Have there been any evidence found to support Kenyon's views?

Quote:

Both Garstang and Kenyon found many storage jars full of grain that had been caught in the fiery destruction. This is a unique find in the annals of archaeology. Grain was valuable, not only as a source of food, but also as a commodity which could be bartered. Under normal circumstances, valuables such as grain would have been plundered by the conquerors. Why was the grain left at Jericho? The Bible provides the answer. Joshua commanded the Israelites that the city and all that is in it were to be dedicated to the Lord (Joshua 6:17, lit. Heb.).

The grain left at Jericho and found by archaeologists in modern times gives graphic testimony to the obedience of the Israelites nearly three-and-a-half millennia ago. Only Achan disobeyed, leading to the debacle at Ai described in Joshua 7.

Such a large quantity of grain left untouched gives silent testimony to the truth of yet another aspect of the biblical account. A heavily fortified city with an abundant supply of food and water would normally take many months, even years, to subdue. The Bible says that Jericho fell after only seven days. The jars found in the ruins of Jericho were full, showing that the siege was short since the people inside the walls consumed very little of the grain.

What exactly is the signifigance of finding grain in an invaded city? Is it not possible that if and earthquake caused the city to fall, that it could have sparked other things, such as a fire?

malookiemaloo · 03-31-2003, 08:01 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by blondegoddess
Maybe I was too broad. These are the points that I'm mainly concerned with; I was able to pick away at the other crap in this site:
I understand that carbon-14 and radio carbon testing preformed by Garstang gave a date that differs from Kathleen Kenyon's previous finds. Have there been any evidence found to support Kenyon's views?
What exactly is the signifigance of finding grain in an invaded city? Is it not possible that if and earthquake caused the city to fall, that it could have sparked other things, such as a fire?

Particularly good post if you don't mind my saying.

Don't know if an earthquake would necessarily lead to fire. Certainly any earthquake I see reported on the tele shows few subsequent fires.

m

beth · 03-31-2003, 08:25 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by malookiemaloo
Particularly good post if you don't mind my saying.

Don't know if an earthquake would necessarily lead to fire. Certainly any earthquake I see reported on the tele shows few subsequent fires.

m

Well, the reason for asking this is, I know during this time candles, torches, and oil lamps were being used for lighting. If there is an earthquake, these things fall or get knocked over; even the candles, lamps, and torches. We know how combustable olds cities were.(Maybe it's a stupid idea.) I was wondering if this could explain the torched grain. I also was wondering if there are other instances where grain is found in ancient cities.

03-30-2003, 12:06 PM	#1
beth Veteran Member Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: where orange blossoms bloom... Posts: 1,802	...and the walls came tumblin' down. I need help picking apart the inaccuracies in this site, please. The walls of Jerico. This came up in a discusion with my husband. I went to different sites to collect info. This site threw out all I previously knew about Jerico, but my knowledge on this topic was already poor. Thanks.

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